Tag Archives: request

Dish Stock Pressured By Hedge Fund Amid Spectrum Auction

Dish Network ( DISH ) stock rose Friday after the company responded to reports that hedge fund Kerrisdale Capital Management has taken a short position in the satellite TV broadcaster and views its spectrum assets as overvalued. Bloomberg had reported Thursday that Kerrisdale had raised $100 million in a new fund aimed at shorting a large company that it didn’t identify, but that Bloomberg said was Dish. Dish Network, meanwhile, in an emailed statement to IBD Friday, said: “We understand Kerrisdale is shopping a negative report on DISH and has shorted our stock in an attempt to make a short-term gain while DISH is in an FCC-mandated quiet period. We will continue to manage the business for the long-term benefit of our shareholders as we have done over the last 35 years.” Dish Network has amassed some 77 MHz of radio spectrum, spending some $15 billion in the process, according to Citigroup. Dish, however, lacks a wireless partner to deliver mobile video services. Verizon Communications ( VZ ) has stated it’s not interested in acquiring Dish Network’s spectrum but might be open to a wholesale network deal , analysts say. Dish — along with AT&T ( T ), Verizon and T-Mobile US ( TMUS ) — have filed as bidders in a federal auction of airwaves now owned by local TV broadcasters. The auction, begun in late March, might drag on until Q4. Depending on the auction’s outcome, wireless firms may be more or less interested in partnering with Dish Network or buying its spectrum. According to Bloomberg, Kerrisdale said on Twitter that it is betting against a more-than-$10-billion company that it thinks is worth 60% to 80% less than its current price. Kerrisdale also reportedly tweeted “we’re still weeks — perhaps many weeks — away from actual publication.” Growth has slowed in Dish Network’s core pay-TV business. Dish last year launched its Sling Web-TV service, which has been gaining subscribers. Dish Network stock was up 5% in early trading in the stock market today , above 46. As of Thursday’s close, Dish Network’s stock was down 23% in 2016 and has slumped 33% in the past 12 months. Dish stock has a poor IBD Composite Rating of 23 out of a possible 99, meanings it’s performed among the bottom 23% of all companies on key metrics such as earnings and sales growth.

Yelp Stock Jumps As Q1 Earnings, Revenue Beat On Local Ads

Yelp ( YELP ) Q1 earnings fell from the year-earlier period but beat expectations, while the Internet firm also raised current-quarter and full-year revenue guidance ahead of analyst views, sending shares up. San Francisco-based Yelp late Thursday said it earned 8 cents per share minus items in the March quarter, down from 10 cents in Q1 2015. But analysts had modeled a 16-cent per-share loss ex items. Revenue rose 34% to $158.6 million, ahead of analyst consensus of $156 million. Yelp stock, which in February hit a nearly four-year low of 14.53, was up 11% in premarket trading Friday, near 24. Yelp stock had been down 26% in 2016 as of Thursday’s close and down 56% from 12 months earlier. Yelp has a weak IBD Composite Rating of 24 out of a possible 99. Yelp connects consumers with a directory of local businesses, such as restaurants, boutiques, and household services, and users can post feedback on the services. “Yelp reported a solid quarter driven by local (ads) where revenue growth accelerated on better-than-expected ad budget fulfillment and above-average salesperson productivity,” said Brian Fitzgerald, an analyst at Jefferies, in a research note. Q2 revenue guidance of $167 million to $171 million edged Wall Street estimates of $168 million at the midpoint, which would be up 26% from Q2 2016. And the midpoint for Q2 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) guidance of $21 million to $25 million also beat the Street’s estimate of $21 million. For 2016, Yelp hiked its revenue guidance to $690 million to $702 million from $685 million-$700 million against the Street’s $691 million expectation. Yelp had sales of $550 million in 2015. “Although Yelp’s Q1 results demonstrated an impressive pivot from brand ads to direct-sold national campaigns, the company will likely need to show a few more quarters of local advertising strength to fully win back the confidence of the Street,” John Egbert, an analyst at Stifel, said in a report. “We are encouraged by the first-quarter results, as it appears Yelp has largely completed the migration of its core business from a CPM (cost per impression) product to a performance-based cost-per-click (CPC) without a material impact on its financial results,” Ralph Schackart, an analyst at William Blair, wrote in a research report.

Obama Fostering Uncertainty Over Smartphone Encryption Issue

The contentious issue over whether the U.S. government should be able to force tech companies to weaken security on their smartphones and software apps so that law enforcement agencies can access private data isn’t likely to be resolved soon. But it could be. All it would take is for President Barack Obama to make a statement supporting strong encryption on tech devices and Internet services. Obama holds himself up as a tech-savvy president, but his lack of leadership on the encryption issue has prolonged the dispute between the federal government and tech firms, tech groups and privacy advocates say. “The White House should be leading on this issue,” said Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). “President Obama is trying to be the best tech president ever. He’s got really good technical consultants, and the idea that he wouldn’t listen to them is shocking.” The tech industry is united in its call to keep encryption strong, saying that weakening software security or creating back doors for authorities to bypass privacy protections opens the door for hackers and criminals. “The math doesn’t change,” Cohn said. “The math is the problem that the FBI has, which is: They cannot build a back door that only they can use. It doesn’t matter which technical expert you bring to bear on it. … This isn’t controversial in the tech community.” The FBI has sought court orders in two criminal cases to try to compel Apple ( AAPL ) to unlock password-protected iPhones. In both cases, the FBI ultimately backed down when it found other ways to access data on the devices. One involved paying a third party to hack the phone, and the other was resolved when the phone’s owner provided the password. Encryption Petition Quickly Surpasses 100,000 Signatures Last September, EFF, Access Now, and a coalition of nonprofit and industry groups launched a public petition calling on President Obama to defend strong encryption and oppose back doors. They used the We The People API, Obama’s preferred petition tool, and quickly surpassed 100,000 signatures. Despite the White House’s pledge to respond to petitions with 100,000 signatures within 60 days, it has remained quiet and is now four months overdue in its response. But if Obama doesn’t support strong encryption for businesses and consumers, perhaps the next president will. On Wednesday, 13 U.S. tech industry groups representing companies such as Apple, Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Facebook ( FB ) and Uber Technologies urged the two presumptive major party presidential nominees to support strong commercial encryption. The encryption stance is among a list of tech industry requests made in an open letter to Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. The trade groups asked the candidates to strengthen cybersecurity and encourage other governments to do the same. The letter urged the candidates to recognize the importance of encryption as a critical security tool and to advance policies that enhance data privacy. Groups signing the letter included the Consumer Technology Association, the Business Software Alliance, the Internet Association and the Semiconductor Industry Association. The encryption issue made headlines earlier this year when the FBI secured a federal court order to force Apple to unlock a smartphone belonging to deceased San Bernardino, Calif., shooter Syed Farook. Apple fought the order, saying it would set a dangerous precedent. To help educate the public, Apple CEO Tim Cook stepped up to become the face of consumer data security. He gave high-profile media interviews and made public statements about the importance of strong encryption. Apple’s fight to protect its encryption is about securing the data on all iPhones in use from bad guys, Cook said. That means securing customers’ data, including financial and health information, confidential business documents, private communications and photos. The FBI might have retreated in the cases of the San Bernardino terrorist and a Brooklyn drug dealer, but it is likely to pursue similar cases against tech companies in the future. Unless the White House tells it not to. Meanwhile, law enforcement supporters on Capitol Hill are crafting legislation that could force tech companies to comply with all law enforcement demands for customer data. Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., have proposed the “Compliance With Court Orders Act of 2016.” As drafted, the legislation would require any individual or company to comply with any U.S. court order and hand over data to authorities, including data that is encrypted. The bill has been roundly criticized by civil liberties and digital privacy groups. No Encryption Bill Expected Until After Elections “I don’t think anything will happen in this session of Congress,” said Gary Shapiro, president of the the Consumer Technology Association. Political gridlock, especially during an election year, will ensure that no encryption bill is passed in Congress, he said. It is more likely that a court case will work its way up to the Supreme Court over the next couple of years, he said. Even if the FBI gets what it wants from the courts or Congress, the law would only be enforceable in the U.S. Foreign companies and their encrypted products would be unaffected, putting U.S. tech firms at a competitive disadvantage, Shapiro said. Public support for encryption is growing, especially in light of major data breaches at companies like Anthem ( ANTM ), eBay ( EBAY ), Home Depot ( HD ), JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) and Target ( TGT ), as well as at government agencies, Cohn said. “We don’t live in a world where computer security is abstract and the damages and problems it causes for people are something that’s theoretical anymore,” Cohn said. “I think it strikes a lot of people as absurd that the government is engaging in trying to attack our security and undermine it and convince companies to give less of it when it should be their job to promote it.” Weakening security on mobile devices and software, says Shapiro, would destroy the confidence people have in businesses to keep their private data secure.